State University of New York trustees approved tuition increases for students enrolled in pharmacy, dentistry, law and physical therapy. Candace de Russy of Bronxville, Westchester County, was the only trustee to vote no. Outgoing student trustee, Alyssa Amyotte, abstained, saying all tuition increases “raise a red flag,” but she had not been in touch with any students in the doctoral programs that will be affected.

The changes affect students from in state and out of state. The tuition increases for in-state students are as follows:–Pharmacy, at the University of Buffalo, from $6,290 to $6,850 per semester, or $4,567 per quarter, up from $4,193.–Law, at the University of Buffalo, from $6,085 to $6,600 each semester, or $4,400 per quarter, up from $4,057.–Dentistry, at the University of Buffalo and Stony Brook University on Long Island, from $7,400 per semester to $8,100, or $5,400 per quarter, up from $4,933.–Physical therapy, at the University of Buffalo, Stony Brook University, and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, from $5,460 to $5,710 each semester, or $3,807 per quarter, up from $3,640.

I received some interesting responses to my post on the worst presidents, including one from a gentleman who wished I hadn’t implied President Bush is dumb and a toady. Well, OK, choose your own expletives, but I still have him down there in Warren G. Harding territory. If you can’t get your approval rating out of the 30s when the economy is gouing well, then something is seriously amiss. Anyway, as we’re now in the midst of what will be history’s longest presidential campaign, I thought I’d propose a worst candidates-of-all-time list. I’d have to put Michael Dukakis at the top, at least in the past generation or two. He had an uncanny ability of not connecting with whomever was stuck listening to or watching him. Everything about him was stiff and wooden, and he had no political instincts, as evidenced by his willingness to be photographed helmeted and puny, peering out of that Army tank. If he were my commander-in-chief, I’d be running for the hills.

Now that Timothy’s Law to require insurance plans to cover mental health problems at the same level as other ailments has had a few months to kick in (it took effect in January,) lawmakers and mental-health advocates want it to be expanded. A new bill would provide full mental-health and substance-abuse coverage in two public health-insurance plans that were left out of the law — Child Health Plus (which insures about 390,000 children) and Family Health Plus (which has about 510,000 members). The combined number of insured under both programs is expected to grow to more than 1.3 million children and families in the next few years. Medicaid has always had full parity for mental health and substance abuse.

“It is important to move forward together to undo any remaining unfairness,” said Assemblyman Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, Montgomery County. He sponsored Timothy’s Law in the Assembly and is the lead sponsor the new bill (there are 82 co-sponsors,) which was advanced by the Assembly Health Committee and is now in the Ways and Means Committee.

The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, Rockland County, in the Senate, where it is in the Rules Committee.

Timothy’s Law was named for the late Timothy O’Clair of Schenectady, who took his own life in 2001 at age 12. His family had limited mental-health coverage and had to give up custody of Timothy so he would qualify for state-paid treatment. Tom O’Clair, Timothy’s father, said he supports the expansion.

“Once again we are breaking down long-standing barriers that have prevented those who suffer from mental illness from receiving the care and treatment they need — the care and treatment that allows them to be everyday members of society,” he said.

Stop the presses: New York is likely to go with the Democratic candidate in next year’s presidential election, according to a poll released today. The poll from the Siena College Research Institute, found that Dems hold a 10-point edge over theoretical Republican opponents in six different matchups. Oh, and in another shock, Sen. Hillary Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani have big leads over their potential rivals for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively, among New Yorkers. “New York has been solidly blue in presidential elections since 1988,” said Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg, referring to the state’s Democratic preference since it went with most of the rest of the country for Republican Ronald Reagan in 1984. “There is no reason to think that 2008 won’t continue that trend.” If the race does come down to Clinton and Giuliani, Clinton would be the former mayor by 13 points, the poll found. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former Vice President Al Gore (who is not an announced candidate) tied for runner-up among Democrats with 13 percent of Dems polled supporting them, compared to 42 percent for Clinton. Giuliani was supported by 52 percent of New York Republicans questioned. In second place was Arizona Sen. John McCain with 14 percent. Oh, and some may remember that former Gov. George Pataki talked about running for president, raised millions for the potential run and travelled frequently to Iowa and New Hampshire last year – two pivotal early tests in the presidential sweepstakes. Pataki got the support of no New Yorkers in the Siena poll.

Add another word to the Eliot Spitzer lexicon: “numerosity.” When talking to reporters today about the large number of public-works projects that would be exempt from a bidding requirement known as the Wicks Law if a proposal he favors is adopted, he tried to explain why they might provide substantial savings even if the dollar amount of the contracts is relatively small. “It is the smaller contracts, because of their numerosity, where the impact was greatest,” he said. After all, why use a simple word when you can dazzle, or confuse, with a bigger one?

The participants would never be mistaken for “American Idol” contestants on Fox, but some lawmakers gave a reasonable account of themselves at a “Legislative Idol” contest last night at a bar near the Capitol, where they performed for charity. Sen. Joe Robach of Greece did an admirable job as emcee, keeping the proceedings moving. At one point, after a performance by Jamestown Assemblyman Bill Parment that might not have been the strongest entry of the night, Robach told him that he was “the best singer he had ever heard who bears a strong resemblance to Frank Purdue,” the late chicken magnet. The winner was veteran Brooklyn Assemblyman Joe Lentol, whose version of “The Impossible Dream” was delivered in an enthusiastic baritone. He didn’t let the normal requirements of rhythm interfere with his performance. At a meeting today of the Codes Committee, which he chairs, Lentol showed off the trophy he won and credited some of his success to advice he got from Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, the Westchester County Democrat. When he asked Brodsky what song he should sing, Brodsky told him to go with ”The Impossible Dream.” “Sing it for me,” Lentol recalled being told by Brodsky, a frequent and consistently unsuccessful candidate for higher office.

When John Edward ran for president in 2004, there was something refreshing about his spirit, particularly when he talked about the “Two Americas. “His words resonated. He seemed to understand the existence of a wedge between the haves and havenots.But the more we learn about Edwards this time around , it’s beginning to become unsettling. Take a column that will be on Thursday’s Editorial the former North Carolina senator a hypocrtical hustler who loves expensive hair cuts.I’d been willing to give Edwards the benefit of a doubt about the haircut, even though $400 for a haircut is ridiculous. But it is well known that he’s wealthy.Now it turns out that he was paid $50,000 to give a speech on poverty at the University of California Davis where students paid $17 to get in the door.

And it’s hard to overlook that Edwards made nearly a half million dollars as a consultant to a hedge fund involved in subprime mortgages for the poor. The problem? He has consistently denounced predatory lending.It’s well established that there are two Americas. Could there be two John Edwards?

June is right around the corner and the campaign for Monroe County Executive is missing in action.Sure, Republican incumbent Maggie Brooks recently announced her bid for re-election. But hardly has she been talking about campaign issues. As we’ve been saying for months on the Editorial Page, Brooks should start giving voters a fuller explanation of how she plans to close a $100 million budget deficit. Her Plan One — a sales tax increase isn’t likely to get pass Democrats in the State Assembly.

Meantime, the Democrats aren’t much better. Pitter patter, pitter patter.They still haven’t even announced who they’re going to put up against Brooks.What’s taking so long? Not a good sign.

Who knew? Amid what seems like the longest presidential campaign in history, the local county executive’s race can’t get cranking.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer came to Albany Tuesday night as part of the state Court of Appeals’ lecture series. His topic: the U.S. Constitution.

In a roughly 45-minute address and a follow up Q-and-A period, the judge did not make news. But he kept the crowd of about 100 entertained with his explanation of why the Constitution revolves around one word: democracy.

He used two case examples — his vote to say government can regulate campaign contributions and his vote to protect affirmative action programs. Some excerpts:

1. “Campaign finance. My goodness, that’s a nightmare. … It’s a nightmare because so many think it’s so easy and so many think it is so easy in different ways.” Breyer said the issue pits the First Amendment (freedom of speech) against “the democracy that underlies the Constitution.” He said he chose the latter because campaign-finance laws “have as their objective preventing one group from monopolizing the playing field.”

2. Affirmative action pits the “colorblind view” against the “purposive view” in an interpretation of the 14th Amendment. “Former military people told us we must have some ability to discriminate for race or else you’re going to have one class of (white officers) and an enlisted class (heavy on minorities) and we can’t run the military that way.” Breyer said he felt “the inclusive (view) is the better lens for making a democratic system work.”

3. “The Warren Court was the court with a mission.” Breyer was a clerk to the U.S. Supreme Court headed by Earl Warren that made so many landmark civil rights decisions. Rather than sitting back and avoiding politics, the court said “let’s open our eyes and look at the South.” “Today, there is not a mission like that, for better or for worse. So today you have a more judicial court.”

4. “That’s like asking about the recipe for Chicken a la king from the point of view of the chicken,” Breyer said when asked what he thought of the grinding public confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees.

5. “This document,” the justice said, pulling a small copy of the Constitution from his coat pocket, “won’t work if you don’t participate.”

(For those interested, Breyer received no payment for his appearance, not even travel expenses, according to a spokesman.)

For the past few days, Al Gore has been all over cable news. Is he sending up trial balloons for another run at the presidency? Or is he just having a ball keeping everyone guessing?

Earth to Al: Hold the drama. We’ve had enough of that with the lead ups to the Clinton and Obama presidential candidacies. Just say it: You’re either in or you’re not.Ok, who could blame you for getting a buzz for making Clinton, Obama and the other Democratic contenders uncomfortable. After all, there is only so much money to go around.But the sooner voters know what their options are, the better.Remember, too, that while the election isn’t until November 2008, the big primaries start up in a little more than seven months.So what’s it going to be , Al?

James Lawrence has, for the past 14 years as Editorial Page editor, been responsible for producing more than 5,100 daily Editorial and Speaking Out pages. He started his journalism career in Cleveland shortly after graduating from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Along the way, he has had career stops in Denver, Orlando, Fla., and White Plains. But unquestionably, he says, some of his most rewarding years as a journalist have been here in Rochester, being a part of positive change. That change has included reforms that followed an aggressive “Challenging Albany” campaign, greater public awareness and pushback against the coarsening of our culture, and strides being made to make this region a destination community.

Jane Sutter became deputy editorial page editor in June 2009. She also has served as managing editor and general manager/custom content at the Democrat and Chronicle. She writes editorials on many topics, with a focus on health and education, helps plan and edit copy on the Editorial and Speaking Out pages, oversees the Board of Contributors and assists Editorial Page editor James Lawrence in managing the department. She has worked as a reporter or editor for newspapers in Iowa, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina and Elmira, where she was executive editor of the Star-Gazette. She recently received her master’s degree in media management from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Cara Matthews has been a statehouse correspondent in the Albany Bureau since August 2005. Prior to that, she covered Putnam County government and politics at The Journal News for nearly five years. Before that, she worked at newspapers in Connecticut and covered the state Legislature for one of them.

Brian Tumulty has worked in the Gannett Washington Bureau since 1992, first as a national business writer and then as a regional reporter for newspapers in New York, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A native of the New York City borough of Queens, he attended high school on Long Island and college in the Bronx. He has four children and one granddaughter.